Yuanyuan (Kay) He – Composer and Visual Artist
Jackie Glazier – Clarinet

On the Arch of a Monochrome Rainbow

On the Arch of a Monochrome Rainbow for clarinet and cello was inspired by Nancy Rubins’ sculpture “Monochrome,” which is displayed on the UT Austin campus. “Monochrome” stands nearly 50 feet high and stretches across 24th Street. It comprises around 75 Kayaks, canoes, and small boats, arranged together to form a giant silver tree, and has become a significant landmark in Austin, TX.”Monochrome” develops a sense of mass and scale that is accompanied with true grace. Balance becomes the main theme of the sculpture.The premiere of this piece will be in the area of the sculpture. The clarinetist stands under the canopy of “Monochrome,” where a bouquet of aluminum canoes and boats blossoms over a busy pedestrian intersection on the University of Texas campus. The sculpture accompanies the tall trees on the sidewalk, mixing with nature. There are many extended techniques I use for clarinet solo, such as large scale glissando, bending tone, multiphonic techniques, etc. These create a very interesting sound palette, which become the source of the electronic sound. Sometimes it’s gentle and beautiful, sometimes it’s odd and harsh, sometimes it’s aggressive and overwhelming, sometimes it’s colorful and joyful, just like nature. How do we keep the balance in the world to continue to live along with nature? How do we enjoy the different shades of nature, and be part of it? It just like dancing on the arch of a monochrome rainbow. It’s overwhelming and also joyful.

Dr. Yuanyuan (Kay) He is a composer and video artist with roots in China. Her works often explore and intertwine various forms of media to create unique audiovisual experiences that engage the audience.

Many of her works involve collaborations with choreographers, dancers, video artists, audio technicians, and stage lighting and design artists. As a multimedia composer, she is very active in the music community. Kay serves as the Creative Director for Electronic Music Midwest (EMM), which is an annual music festival dedicated to programming a wide variety of electroacoustic music and providing high quality electronic media performances.

She is also the founder and Director of the Turn Up Multimedia Festival, which works to promote Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Culture-Connecting, and Equality. She is currently Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona, where she teaches composition, electro-acoustic music, and orchestration.

Hailed for her “robust playing and virtuosic performance” (San Diego Tribune) and “beautiful and clear tone” (The Clarinet Magazine), Jackie Glazier is an active soloist, chamber musician, orchestral clarinetist, pedagogue, and advocate of new music.

As assistant professor of clarinet at the University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music, Glazier is a committed pedagogue and mentor to future generations of clarinetists, and a member of the Arizona Wind Quintet.

As a soloist and chamber musician, she has performed throughout the United States and in China, Mexico, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Croatia, and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. As a soloist and a founding member of the saxophone / clarinet ensemble Duo Entre-Nous, Glazier is active in commissioning and performing new music. She has commissioned and premiered over 20 pieces with composers from the United States, Canada, France, Italy, Argentina, China, and Australia.

Duo Entre-Nous has performed internationally and is featured on the album, “Lights and Shadows, Waves and Time,” which was recently released on Parma Records. They are currently working on their debut album, featuring works they have commissioned, set to release on Equilibrium Label in Spring 2021.